RIGHTEOUSNESS AND BLESSEDNESS
(Words From the Mountain)
On May 17, 2026, at the
National Mall in Washington, a remarkable event took place. Thousands gathered
for Rededicate 250, a nationwide prayer service in connection with the
upcoming 250th anniversary of the United States. President Donald
Trump appeared via video, reading II Chronicles 7. Political leaders,
along with evangelical figures, prayed and spoke.
The purpose of this
gathering, however, seemed to be that if we, as a nation, publicly rededicate
our country to God, then God will bless us and make us great and economically prosperous
again. But what truly exalts a nation? It is not necessarily a public
demonstration of rededication. In God's providence, the USA has been a blessed
nation not because of its great people, but because many people trust in a
Great God who is Just and Righteous in all His ways.
Thomas Jefferson, one of the
founders of the nation, worried about what might happen when we violate God's
gifts and turn away from Him. "Can the liberties of a nation be thought
secure when we have removed their only firm basis, a conviction in the minds of
the people that these liberties are the gift of God? That they are not to be
violated but with His wrath? Indeed, I tremble for my country when I reflect
that God is just; that His justice cannot sleep forever."[1]
In our series, "Words
from the Mountain," Today, we will examine a crucial expectation of God
for all His followers and the blessings that come with it, and also answer the
question of what truly exalts our country, or any nation, for that matter. I
title this message: Righteousness and Blessedness. Our key verse:
Matthew 5:6, "Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,
for they shall be satisfied." NASB. This raises several questions: What is
righteousness? Who is righteous (Man or God)? What does it mean to hunger and
thirst for righteousness, and what blessedness does it carry?
I. What is Righteousness?
According to the definition, a righteous
person is someone who acts in accordance with divine or moral laws, free from
guilt or sin. However, the question is whose moral and divine laws are these?
The Bible defines righteousness as one of God's moral attributes. It is God's
standard that He wants humanity to conform to, but can humanity reach it?
II. Who is righteous, (Man
or God)?
Is there anyone truly free
from wrongdoing or deception? The wise King Solomon lamented, "Indeed,
there is no one on earth who is righteous, no one who does what is right and
never sins." Ecclesiastes 7:20. Paul, writing to the Romans, explains how
a sinful person thinks and acts. Romans 3:10-12 states, "As it is written:
'There is no one righteous, not even one; there is no one who understands;
there is no one who seeks God. All have turned away; they have together become
worthless; there is no one who does good, not even one.”
If none of us is righteous,
then who is? Only our God is righteous, and all He does is just and right at
all times. Moses wrote this song about God's character after seeing how He
brought justice. "I will proclaim the name of the LORD, Oh, praise the
greatness of our God! He is the Rock; his works are perfect, and all his ways
are just. A faithful God, who does no wrong, upright and just is he." Deut
32:3-4. King David confessed, "The Lord is righteous in all his ways and
faithful in all he does." Ps 145:17.
Not only is God righteous,
but His Kingdom is also righteous. Isaiah prophesied that God, "will reign
on David's throne and over his kingdom, establishing and upholding it with
justice and righteousness from that time on and forever." Isaiah 9:7.
King David declared, “Righteousness
and justice are the foundation of God’s throne.” Ps 89:14. What exalts a nation
is not man’s great ideas, but it is God and His people living according to His
righteous standards.
Paul challenged Corinthian
believers to know this fact: “the unrighteous and anyone unholy will not enter
God’s Kingdom.” II Corinthians 6:9 In heaven, sin is finally dealt with.
If entering heaven requires
a high standard of righteousness, how can a sinful person ever gain entry? In
their sinful nature, they are unable to do so, so God provided a solution. That
solution was His Son, Jesus Christ, who was completely sinless. God made Him to
be sin for us so that, in Him, we might become the righteousness of God and
enter His Kingdom. II Cor 5:21
Not everyone, but all those
who have believed in Christ, and have their sins confessed and forgiven, will
be clothed with robes of righteousness. Listen to the joyful singing of a saved
soul, “I delight greatly in the LORD; my soul rejoices in my God. For he has
clothed me with garments of salvation and arrayed me in a robe of his
righteousness, as a bridegroom adorns his head like a priest and as a bride adorns
herself with her jewels.” Isaiah 61:10. Well, it is all about our future in
heaven, but we are not there yet! What are we supposed to do in the meantime?
III. Righteousness and
Blessedness
Jesus continued his teaching
by saying, "Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for
they shall be satisfied." NASB. Let’s look at what it means to hunger and
thirst for righteousness and the blessings that are associated with it. An
attitude of spiritual helplessness is the entry point into God’s kingdom, enabling
us to be sorrowful for our own sins and others’ sins. Through gentleness, a
believer actively combats sin rather than adopting a passive, indifferent
attitude. Only then do they hunger and thirst for God’s righteousness.
In Greek grammar, those who
hunger and thirst are understood not as a continuous action. So, it can be
said, “the hungering ones and the thirsting ones,” indicating constant and
repetitive satisfaction with God’s righteousness, similar to physical hunger
and thirst. Hunger and thirst are our primary drives that fulfill our survival
needs.
Jesus used a physical
phenomenon to encourage believers to pursue God’s righteousness and to be
satisfied with Him. Just as food and water are vital for our physical survival,
spiritual bread and living water are crucial for our spiritual growth. Only Jesus
can meet both our physical and spiritual needs. After feeding over five
thousand people, Jesus declared, "I am the bread of life; he who comes to
me shall not hunger.” John 6:35. On the last and greatest day of the Feast of
Tabernacles, Jesus made another powerful declaration of himself.
John 7:37-38 says, “Let anyone who is thirsty come to me
and drink. Whoever believes in me as Scripture has said, rivers of living water
will flow from within them.” The timing of Jesus’ offer of living water was
perfect. “During the feast, each morning for seven days, a priest led a
procession with music from the temple to the nearby Pool of Siloam.
He fills a golden container
with water and carries it back to the temple as the people sing praises to God.
At the altar, the priest pours out the water, while another priest offers a
drink-offering of wine on the opposite side of the altar. On the eighth and
final day, according to some sources, the water-pouring ceremony was not
repeated. It was on that waterless day that Jesus stood in the temple and
declared that He Himself was the source of living water.”
What does this mean for us?
This blessing of contentment with Jesus is granted to those who believe in and
accept Him as their Savior. When we regularly and consistently turn to Jesus by
reading His Word, He will satisfy our spiritual needs. The Holy Spirit will
reveal God’s Kingdom principles and empower us to do His will.
It is the grace of God that “teaches
us to say No to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled,
upright, and godly lives in this present age, while we wait for the blessed
hope—the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, who
gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself
a people that are his very own, eager to do what is good.” Titus 2:12-14
